Enough is Enough!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about book series, and how tedious it has become to follow them when books are released a year after the other. Because of this case, I have become emotionally invested in many series and characters, but have failed to complete the books because over time I started to not be interested in the books anymore as the story was so long and drawn-out. This thought brought me right to one series, or group of series, should I say: The Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare (with authors Maureen Johnson and Sarah Rees Brennan).

I used to be a hard-core fan of the books, and I can still say that I enjoy some of the books very much. The first three books in her first series, The Mortal Instruments, were awesome. And her, The Infernal Devices trilogy is absolutely wonderful (I still have yet to read the last book). But, my problem began when more and more spin-offs and novellas were announced. I said to myself, “Really? This is a lot for one world, one author.” Thinking about how many books there are going to be set in this world, I could really just spend months alone reading only Cassandra Clare’s books.

Now, here’s where I begin to have a problem. The first three books in her TMI series were great, like I previously said. TID trilogy is amazing. But I started to have a problem with the ending of TMI series. She originally planned to make the books a trilogy, but for some reason chose to expand the series to 6 books. Okay, that’s fine…but the writing and creativity of the stories went seriously downhill. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still GOOD. I still really enjoy her writing and books, but the increase in bad writing plus the announcement of the upcoming spin-offs and novellas made me reevaluate my commitment to these books.

I began to wonder, “Why is she doing so much for the Shadowhunters?” My best guess is because publishers know that it has a solid fan base, and will make money. BUT, this is where I differ with the thoughts of the publishers, media, whoever thinks that this series will continue to be popular – I bet there are more people out there like me that are getting impatient and bored with these books. I would love to see what else Clare has in her to write a new (maybe even standalone) book that is outside of the world of the Shadowhunters. She’s a wonderful author, but I feel like she’s now being restricted by outsiders to stick with The Shadowhunter Chronicles, and creating lesser content because of that.

Another thing that bugs me is that since all of the books are connected, to get the most out of the story it is recommended that the reader reads EVERY book in order of publication date, in order for the stories to make the most sense and in order to keep a book from spoiling the other! (Again, I think this is a ploy for money, and not at all Cassandra Clare’s fault.)

The most recent announcement that actually pushed me to write this post (that I am nervous about posting), is that the rest of The Mortal Instruments book will be turned into a TV show by the same people that made the unsuccessful film. Now, I enjoyed the film, but I know that it didn’t meet my expectations, or the expectations of a lot of readers. Do I think this TV show will be a good idea? No. Will I watch it? Most likely, although whether I’ll stick with it unlike her books, I can’t say.

I really don’t want this post to come off as me bashing Cassandra Clare and her books, etc., because I really love them! But I think there is a point when an author (or their publisher or whoever decides that a book should be written) needs to know when to stop. When enough is enough, and that too much of a good thing can end badly.

So, will I ever continue on with these books? Yes, I plan to finish up the last two TMI and the final TID books and call it quits.

If you’re interested in seeing all of the books that Cassandra Clare has written you can visit her Goodreads page. And to keep up to date on everything Shadowhunter and Cassandra Clare, TMI Source does a great job posting when the first news is announced!

Disclaimer: These thoughts are my own and I do not mean to offend anyone by sharing them with you. I am in no way trying to hurt the author mentioned, her books, or to offend her in any way. You do not have to feel the same way as I do, and I encourage friendly discussion over the topic that this post covers in the comments.

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37 thoughts on “Enough is Enough!”

I think you’re making a really good point with this blog post! I really love Cassandra Clare’s books too but it would be great to read something that isn’t set in the world of Shadowhunters too. (I actually finished reading all the books in the TMI and TID series though and really enjoyed them!) But, on the other hand, I’m still obsessed with the Shadowhunters…. 😛

Thanks, and I still really like the books too. I definitely had a phase where I was obsessed. But now that I’m past that I’m starting to realize there just may be too many Shadowhunter books for me. Everyone’s different though, and I’m so glad you still love them so much!

I felt the same way with the Pretty Little Liars series. How many books are there now, twelve? More? I read the first eight and then gave up. And I completely agree- Cassandra Clare is such a talented writer, and it would be really cool if she branched out and explored some other kinds of genres, stories, etc. As for the TV series, I think it could be interesting, but I’m definitely not expecting them to stick to the book that much! They never seem too, unfortunately. Anyways, awesome post! 🙂

I haven’t read the PLL books but I watch/watched the show (still not sure if I’ll continue for the rest of the current season). Especially with PLL I feel like things are getting really repetitive and have lost what made them popular and special to begin with. And thanks so much, Holly! 🙂

I think there is such a thing as “too much of a good thing” and sometimes it is best to just look back, see a job well done, and move on to the next job. I couldn’t get into TMI (mainly cos I found her writing painful, personally), and I think for a series which was planned to be a trilogy by the author, to stretch it to 6 books and then even further is pushing it a bit too far. It exhausts the story!

I think this may be one of the reasons I’ve been picking up more and more stand alones instead of starting new series, as well.

I totally agree about exhausting the story. And I too, find myself picking up more standalones and already completed trilogies. I think it’s better to not start a series that has the possibility of getting longer than like, 5 books, for me personally.

I personally thought that The Mortal Instruments was better as a trilogy, though I still really enjoyed the last three books in the series. I loved The Infernal Devices too, and I am super excited for the other series that are planned, but I worry that I might get sick of making constant comparisons between them, if that makes sense. I already compare TMI and TID in every way.
I think if the TV show is done right, I could love it.
I’ll just have to wait and see how I feel!

I agree, I felt the same with the house of night series. The first one was amazing and I loved every moment, it was jam packed full of action. The next few were good, then as you got to the 6th book, she could spend chapters doing nothing. It got really annoying and I refused to even borrow them from the library. If they had compacted some of the books into less, it would have been much better.

I haven’t read those books but the number of them in the series put me off from the get-go, unfortunately. When books drag and they’re in a series like that I start to feel like it’s just a “filler” book.

Ye i know how you feel, some long series are great because they actaully have a different story to tell in each one, but those ones, some of the books could have been condensed to a single chapter for all the story moved forward.

I personally really enjoy her books, and while the second half of the TMI series did seem a little disjointed, I still enjoyed reading it. I’ve heard a lot of people complaining that she’s writing too many Shadowhunter books/series (such as TID and the new The Dark Artifices series) but personally I don’t see anything wrong with an author wanting to continue writing in the universe they’ve created if it’s expansive enough. I agree it may have been a bit exhausting if she had continued the SAME series (such as TMI) for even more books, but I think it’s refreshing enough when she does series that feature new settings/characters within the same universe (such as TID). Ultimately, I don’t think an author can really be faulted for continuing to write within a universe they’ve created, especially if there is evidently enough of a readership to create a sustainable demand for such books. I do agree with you though, it would be fun to see Clare try her hand at a series outside the Shadowhunter realm!

I understand what you’re saying completely. I think my main problem with the whole thing is HOW she’s writing them. I don’t like that in order for you to get the most out of the stories you have to read all the series, novellas, etc., AND in publication order. For me it begins to be a bit too tedious.

I can’t weigh in on this particular author, as I only read the first few books in the Mortal Instruments series. But I have a major issue with series books, especially when they are released so far apart from each other. I have a crap memory, and don’t have time to do re-reads. I end up having to wait until all books are available so I can read them at once, and that irritates me. For example – I have been interested in the Throne of Glass series, but only 3 books are out, with no telling how many more to be released. That makes me not want to read the series at all. I’m all about stand alone novels. And if you want to do a series, stop at 3! 🙂

I agree with you — I LOVE trilogies. They’re just the right length. And I’m so ready to start the Throne of Glass books, but like you said, we don’t really know how many books it will end up being… Also, to help with remembering previous books in series the Recaptains are great and I visit the site all the time. You should check them out!

I feel like the Shadowhunter concept is being milked for everything it’s worth. I’m not sure if I want to blame the author, the publisher or both.

Magisterium’s recent success shows that Cassandra Clare isn’t a one trick pony — I haven’t read the book yet, but the reviews are very positive — but she’s coming off as one.

There’s a point in time when an author needs to leave the future to his/her readers’ imaginations.

I actually really like Emma and Jules from what I’ve seen in City of Heavenly Fire, and I’m curious to see what will happen to them, but their once unique, magical world is quickly becoming dull to my eyes. I think they’ll be great characters, but I think they’d be even greater characters if Clare used their personalities, drives and passions and gave them (and the readers) a whole new world to explore. I’m concerned that her stories are becoming formulas with varied characters.

I’m sure Cassandra Clare is even more talented than we’re seeing, and I hope she releases more non-Shadowhunter books in the future. And when it comes to the Shadowhunters, I agree with you about the formulas. They are getting a little too repetitive for my taste.

I always refer to this as the Cassandra Clare syndrome. Abbi Glines is another perfect example. At some point, the pets in the books will be getting their own damn spin offs. Contemporaries should not have so many spin offs! Then Cassie just announced that they are writing MORE Shadowhunter books, are you kidding me? I gave up after book 4.

I have no problem if the series is a planned for like 10 books, but if it was planned as 3 and more books keep getting added, it just screams ‘greedy marketing ploy’ to me.

I’ve never read Abbi Glines’ books for A. the reason you mentioned, and B. those covers.
But like you said, if the series starts out as X number of books that’s great. I just hate it when X books goes to crazy number Y books midway through.

Haha, I just won a giveaway and decided to get The City of Bones, so I’m probably going to start the series soon. Man, I wasn’t aware that there were that many books in the series! I haven’t watched the movie, but turning it into a TV show just reminds me of the Delirium pilot. *shudder* I’m a little scared to get emotionally invested in these books now, haha.

I remember a time a few months ago when I was just in your mindset. I couldn’t and didn’t want to keep up with so many series that I hadn’t finished, and I began to wonder why so many books MUST come in series or trilogies. On the negative side of things, many series might be for the money. But at least on the positive side of things, we get to know the characters so well, watch them grow, and so on. Whenever I get fed up with series, all I have to do is remember some of my favorite books (many which are series) to get a little calmer again. While there may be some frustrating series out there, sometimes they just have to be tossed aside and forgotten about in favor of some of the best series.

I just wrote a very similar post, though I went into details on The Hair (The Selection #4) more than on Cassandra Clare’s books.

Anyway, I agree that CoLS and CoFA were not nearly as brilliant as the first three. I loved CoHF nonetheless. Except Emma’s part since I kind of disliked Emma and which I consider almost totally irrelevant to the last book and I think it was one of the batch of instances of what you were talking about; only there so that the reader will buy all the books. On balance, I adored the way TMI and TDI were interwoven.

I don’t know what to think about the TV series. The movie definitely didn’t meet my expectations. I’m not saying it was bad, but it was not good. Now, the TV series will cut the story apart which I doubt would work well with the original story – it’s way too complex and continuous – so they would have to change things. That didn’t seem to work out well last time. Furthermore, it might or might not mean new cast. That’s my personal problem now, but I hate when the cast is swapped.

All in all, authors know where and how they want to go with their series and while critic partners’, editors’ and reviewers’ suggestions might help, suggestions made only to increase the sales’ number should be banned.

Thanks for your input! 🙂 And I agree with you — If Cassie wanted to write more in the series because she loved it so much that’s awesome. But I have an inkling she was given a “suggestion” to keep writing in the same world.

I love Cassandra Clare, and at one point in time, I might’ve said the same thing. That is not the case, nowadays. Now that TMI has ended, I’m sad. Forlorn. I realize how much I’ll miss Jace and the gang. That’s just me, though.

I also mentioned this on my review of City of Heavenly Fire that as long as there are fans like me who can’t get enough of these books, Clare will keep writing them. I mean, sure. She’s not in it for the accolades and awards; she’s in it for her fans (and money), but hey. That’s entirely her choice. If she feels that there are more stories to be told, then who are we to tell her to stop? One of these days, she’ll realize she’s ready to move on. Then, and only then, will she stop…probably.

There are wayy too many books. I can’t catch up!! I have to keep reading all of these ARCs so I have no time to go back and read the published books that I also must read… The struggles are real!! XD Lovely post ❤

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